LA8AJA's homepage

I got two new ones on LoTW recently. The first was Midway with K4M (#245) and the second was San Marino with T70A (#246). Other nice confirmations were the recent expedition to French Polynesia TX4T and OX3XR who I worked on 12M not long ago. XR0Y Easter Island has also uploaded the logs and gave me two new bandpoints on LoTW. I'm closing in on 250 LoTW only. Thanks once again to the LoTW users.

I have added a few pictures from the trip to OH8X Radio Arcala last weekend. Go here to take a look.

Call: OH8X
Operator(s): LB3HC, OH7EA,  LA6FJA, LA8AJA
Station: OH8X

Class: M/2 HP
QTH: Arcala
Operating Time (hrs): 48

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:   85    32
   80:  342    49
   40:  878    58
   20: 1593    59
   15:  666    57
   10:    0     0
-------------------
Total: 3564   255  Total Score = 2,720,340

Club: Contest Club Finland

Here is the summary from the contest this weekend. I was lucky to get the opportunity to work from this enormous station. I'll post some pictures and a little write-up later.

I worked TX4T Wednesday morning on 40M CW. The signal was not bad at all, but he was working USA/JA/VK/EU at the same time. After a little while in the pile-up, I managed to get through and it was a new one on 40M (#248). That was my first qso in a month. Radio activity has been pretty low. On Saturday Morning, I got TX4T on 30M. The higher bands has been showing signs of life lately. On Saturday, I heard several signals on 12M. I worked UA0BA with a nice signal, and heard TL0A, but I couldn't get through the pile-up. VP8LP was also heard, but I didn't bother to call. On Sunday 12M were quite crowded and lots of stations on. I managed to work 9X0CW for #221 and TL0A for #222. A few hours later, OX3XR had quite a nice signal and gave me #223. Among the other stuff I heard were lots of US stations, WP2B, FM5LD, CE, PY0F, LU and Z2. I have worked most of it before except Z2. He was just too weak. This looks promising for solarcycle 24.

Soundclips:

• TX4T 40M CW – qsl via G3TXF – also via LoTW
• TX4T 30M CW – qsl via G3TXF – also via LoTW
• TL0A 12M SSB – qsl direct
• 9X0CW 12M CW – qsl via DK7PE
• OX3XR 12M CW – via OZ3PZ – also via LoTW

VE3EY Nick was so kind to visit my homepage and leave a note in my guestbook here a few weeks ago. He found my soundclip of our 20M QSO. It turns out that Nick had recorded me too. Listen below on how I sounded in the other end of the pile-up. If you want to listen to my recording of our 20M QSO, go here. Thank you very much Nick for the recordings and two new bandpoints!

Soundclips:

• FJ/VE3EY working LA8AJA on 20M CW, August 4th, 2009
• FJ/VE3EY working LA8AJA on 17M CW, August 5th, 2009

We're almost a month into the new year, and I thought I would make an updated LoTW stats. Below you can see the current numbers. The last year has brought lots of confirmations, and a nearly 32% hit in 2009 is quite good. I have also concentrated more on working LoTW users the past year, something I must say has paid off. The total hit has also increased to 14% up from 11,5%.

Yearly statistics:

Here are my band, mode and DXCC statistics:

As always, keep the confirmations coming!

A few days ago I read about the latest Acom amplifier. They launched a new 4CX250B-based amplifier which covers 160-10M. It's called Acom1011, and it's a budget small and lightweight linear amplifier. If this has the build quality of the previous amplifiers, it should be a winner in it's class.

FEATURES:

Easy operation.

The plate-load True Resistance Indicator (TRI) is an ACOM innovation that provides quick and precise tuning, typically in less than 10 seconds. The auto-operate function will return the amplifier to the OPERATE mode automatically after each protection trip, saving time and avoiding manual switching.

No tuner needed.

No external antenna tuner is required as long as the antenna VSWR is 3:1 or lower. The amplifier will perform the functions of an antenna tuner, enabling you to change antennas faster and use them over wide frequency ranges.

A durable amplifier.

This amplifier is both user-friendly and self-monitoring. It is designed to safely withstand up to 240 W of reflected power, up to 100 milliseconds of drive spikes (RF “tails” after a PTT or KEY release), and even operator tuning errors. It is also capable of operating at more than half its designed output power at only 75% of nominal line (mains) voltage. Because it can tolerate deep voltage drops (down to zero for 10 milliseconds) and 15% line voltage spikes, it is particularly suited for use in portable environments, such as field days and DXpeditions.

LED bar-graph display.

The upper LED bar-graph always reads peak forward power while the lower LED bar-graph is for the reflected power. LED warning indicators are provided for abnormal conditions of grid 1, grid 2, and plate parameters.

Antenna selection.

Two antenna outputs are selectable on the front panel of the amplifier.

Efficient tuning.

Antenna matching can be achieved in less than 10 seconds and at a quarter of nominal output power, which produces lower risk of interference to other stations and greater safety to the amplifier components.

Transceiver-independent.

The amplifier operates without special signaling from the transceiver; it needs only “ground on TX” and 60 W RF drive power to operate at full output power.

Input matching.

Broadband input matching circuitry offers excellent loading characteristics for the driving transceiver, from 1.8MHz to 30MHz.

Reliable tubes.

Two 4CX250B(7203) ceramic-metal tetrodes with a total plate dissipation of 500W (forced air cooling, grid-driven) are used for maximum efficiency.

Short warm-up period.

Only 30 seconds warmup period is required.

Permanent monitoring and protection of the plate and grids currents.

The Bias Optimizer minimizes heat dissipated by the tubes, assuring tubes longevity.

High voltage protection.

Design of the high-voltage power supply eliminates the danger of turn-on transients affecting sensitive devices connected to the same line (mains) circuit. Moreover, the amplifier can be configured to accommodate any of 8 nominal line voltages between 100 and 240 V, 50 or 60 Hz.

Band inclusion.

The amplifier can be shipped with 10 and 12-meter capability disabled as required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), for United States users. Contact your dealer about enabling those bands.

Go to the Acom page here.